Why I’m Upgrading to Leopard
By now you’ve no doubt heard that the latest Mac OS X version dubbed 10.5 Leopard will be dropping on Friday, October 26th at 6pm. Usually I don’t need convincing when new software comes out, and I upgrade regardless. However, when reading through the new Leopard features list on Apple’s site, one thing became apparent - I could care less about every single Leopard feature with the exception of the new Airport menu.
Get a clearer picture of your surrounding Secure networks in the AirPort menu, Secure wireless networks are identified by a lock icon.
Finally, I don’t have to click on every single Wi-Fi network to find out which ones are open. Sometimes Frequently my Comcast-provided Internet connection will go down and I will be tempted to connect to one of the many wireless APs in my area, or I’ll be Wi-Fi hunting in airports, hotels, and at unconferences like BarCamp Atlanta last weekend. It takes quite a bit of time when you must click every network until you find an open one. However I never connect to my neighbor’s Wi-Fi access points as we all know that is both ethically wrong and illegal..
That’s me on the MBP trying to find an open Wi-Fi AP, which has been taking a while without knowing what APs are secure and which are open… actually I think I was showing off some Firebug magic.Other Upgrade-worthy Features
If I had to choose the other Leopard features I’m looking forward to, this would be my list.
Calculations in Spotlight. I always QuickSilver open Calculator or open up the calculator widget to calculate interesting things like googols and Fitts’s Law when doing HCI homework. Having a basic calculator at my fingertips would save time.
Hot Corner for Sleep Display. I’m a big hot corners user already - top left for desktop, top right for all windows, bottom left for dashboard and bottom right for activating the screensaver. However, whenever I leave for a short while I’d rather sleep the display than turn on the screensaver. I had this problem with my old iMac - there was no way to physically turn off the display short of sleeping the computer. I think iMac users will love Leopard’s support for a sleep display hot corner.
Tabbed Windows for Terminal. Every night before I head to sleep I always SSH into my server to look over logs, back things up and what have you. I have certain things automated but I always sleep better whenever I manually take a peek. Tabs in terminal means I won’t have to remember every screen command for Linux (although this is slightly different).
Granted I will thoroughly enjoy all the big Leopard features like Spaces, Time Machine, the new Finder and the new Desktop look, it’s the small things that have my attention. However, more importantly, I’m looking forward to a fresh install. My MacBook Pro has gotten sluggish despite a few defragging sessions with iDefrag. It kernel panicked the other day and my iSight hasn’t been detected for months.
Will you be in line at the Apple Store on October 26th?
re: the Wi-Fi I guess you haven’t explored WiFind from TastyApps. Does wonders. :) But good to know Leopard will be more WiFi aware.
Roll on 26th!
I’m very excited. I’m just hoping it runs brilliantly on my G4 Powerbook.
@Amit - I’ve known about 3rd-party apps that can do this but would be ecstatic for this to be a native feature at the OS level.
I’m the complete opposite; I’m super psyched for just about every feature. Reading over the 300 list in detail has gotten me really excited. Just about every application has something small in it that will make a huge difference.
For example, being able to drag something over the dock, press the space bar, and launch the application will speed up drag and drops. Or, Leopard being able to determine the default printer based on network location will keep away the failed printing messages. Or, scrolling in non-focused applications will make multitasking easier.
All these little pieces make up one compelling package. I can see myself spending my entire next weekend with Leopard, just checking out all the little things.
BTW, while I can see the clean install is needed in your case, I’m going to rock the archive and install. All the benefits of a fresh OS without having to readd applications.
For those not planning to upgrade but needing to quickly ID non-secure WiFi hotspots, I recommend the widget AirPort Radar which does for free just what Leopad promises for £85.
No, I won’t.
I have pre-ordered Leopard from the online Apple store yesterday, it will be shipped on the very big day :)
I’m mostly interested in Spaces and Time Machine with my LaCie Porsche hard Drive. Actually Stacks looks good as well and I like the new Mail.app features.
I don’t think that Leopard will be such a revolutionary OS beacuse the major changes are in the graphics interface and in some new programs but there are no important news.
P.S. I can’t see my previous comment, do you use wp-cache?
While you are waiting for next mac os, tomorrow next Ubuntu will be released :D
I’ll be ordering it. Amazon just dropped the price to $109 with free shipping. I’m still debating on whether to do a fresh install or not on my MacBook.
I just received a $100 Apple store gift card for my birthday, and just when I thought it would sit in my wallet for a while, Apple announces this. I’m really looking forward to this release.
“Will you be in line at the Apple Store on October 26th?”
Nope, like always I had to pre-order it from the online Apple Store. No retail outlets anywhere nearby. :(
I was banned from buying it by the girlfriend, (she’ll never know I’ve pre-ordered it!)
As a relatively new apple user, just to check will Tiger apps run happily on Leopard? I am guessing they do, but thought I would consult the superior intellect of Stammyworld. On a closing note, my Yodel Anecdotal t-shirt finally arrived today- cheers for the heads up on the competition back August.
I have already preordered it of course. My main reason for getting it are all the cool new features like Time Machine, but I really want it more for the development aspects of Leopard. CoreAnimation is really going to change things from the looks of it. Objective-C 2.0 also will speed up development time. The real benifit of Leopard is going to be the 3rd party apps that can now come about.
I don’t understand all the fuss I’ve been reading about people not upgrading.
It seems like us Mac people have converted too many Windows users and now they’re infecting our ways with their BS about not upgrading.
This is MacOS X, not a Windows 98 to Windows 98 SE upgrade.
Bah!
Quicksilver has a handy calculator module already. Just hit “=” and it will do quick calculations.
http://guides.macrumors.com/Quicksilver#Calculator
Well I want it preinstalled on my new Macbook. So I am going to wait for a while. :)
iterm?
I won’t be upgrading until I upgrade my hardware. I’ve been living off of two original G4 systems (Sawtooth & Powerbook G4) for years now. I’m sure both could handle it (I haven’t checked the system requirements yet), but I’m not going to put either system through that kind of torture just yet. Cash flow is currently going in the wrong direction.
I guess that no one around here ran the beta version like myself. Simply put, I did not see anything that is worth the money at this point. It is really more of a developers build, most features added will be implemented in applications in the future. Once I start to see some apps using the features I will upgrade.
At this point testing out the beta version was enough to bring my interest level down.
I am excited about the release but I don’t think I will get it on the 26th. I will probably wait until I get a new Mac.
I’ve been waiting for three things before I will make the Switch. The first is Leopard, which really intrigues me as a lifelong Windows user. The second is for an updated MacBook with the Santa Rosa platform. The third is another student deal (like the free Nano) which I will then sell to help offset the cost. If all the planets align I think I just might take the plunge that so many people around me have recently taken. Are you going to blog about BarCamp?
That Isight might just be disconnected l. Mine failed in my launch day Macbook. Apple wanted to charge me a $150 to fix this all I did was open up the display and reconnect the wire. An easy guide is available on ifixit but I’m sure you know that. Love the site keep up the good work.
I’m celebrating my first month of owning a Mac today and have been loving the whole experience! I’m planning to upgrade to Leopard, Time Machine is one of the major reasons, as I’ve been doing some in depth reading on it and it sounds like a great app. The other reason being the new finder (and quick look), which I feel will make life easier for me as a new Mac user.
I’m a bit gutted I missed out on the Up-to-Date offer, but £85 penalty for buying the mac two weeks before Oct 1st was truly worth it for the experience, and to get the machine I wanted (White 20″ iMac).
Dude, http://www.macwireless.com/html/support/airport_radar/index.php?ven=mw&cat=airport_radar&ver=1.1.1
Puh-lease!
@Andres: http://paulstamatiou.com/2007/10/17/why-im-upgrading-to-leopard/#comment-146149
You’re right on this, in that Leopard doesn’t have any features I would consider revolutionary but it brings many, many small improvements that improve the OS experience. As mentioned, most of the new features, like Spaces and even Boot Camp, have been available in third party apps for a while but its integration into the OS will make the whole experience even better.
I usually upgrade for the sake of upgrading (unless the new feature set is so underwhelming that it can’t be justified) and I’m also looking forward to a fresh install to perk the system. I’m not sure I’ll be dumping SuperDuper for Time Machine, not sure how reliable it is. Not too sure about the new Dock and semi-transparent menu bar too, the latter is too Vista-like for me.
One major complaint I would raise against Leopard is the higher price for students now. It’s strange that they raised the price knowing students are the most likely amongst their customers to download a pirated copy, this will only penalise students like myself who are intending to fork out the cash for a good piece of software.
Someone sent me a link to this post, mainly because I’m smack dab in the middle of that picture of Barcamp. What am I doing? Chewing on something and blinking at the same time? Wonderful.
Just another reason for someone sitting on a G4 (oh thats me) to upgrade to a new iMac. Why even think about the upgrade just figure you’re new iMac has a $100 coupon. I’ll try that logic on the wife.
Though I know it’s not native to the OS, iStumbler is great at sniffing out wi-fi points and giving you all the info you need on them. It’s free and you can get it here: http://www.istumbler.net
I pre-ordered after seeing the video on the Apple site that goes through some of the key changes (http://www.apple.com/macosx/guidedtour). If some of you are on the fence with respect to the upgrade, view this video.
I’ve got it pre-ordered, couldn’t help it since it just so happens to be coming out the day prior to my birthday. a nice little gift from Jobs.
My macbook pro got stolen in class 3 weeks ago, I know it sucks but I havn’t bought a new mac cause I am waiting till friday before I buy a new computer, cant wait to explore
My only concern is about my legacy programs.
I have some programs that i havent updated them a while ago.
but good to know there’s a new member in the apple’s OS wild animal family…
I usually buy the newest operating systems without any second thought. After a few years of this, though, I was not all that impressed with Leopard when the features were finally up for display on the Apple site. The least impressive feature seemed to be “stacks” for viewing files on the desktop. After getting over the disappointment of what appeared to be just card tricks, I went back and read more about the other features. Time Machine & being able to view files or documents without actually opening them all seem more interesting. I was also interested in a feature that sounded like I would be able to use my iBook G4 at work to access my new iMac at home. However, I am no longer planning to spring for the family pack of Leopard. I bought the new iMac in July ‘07 when my iBook (4 yrs old) slowed down to almost a crawl, even after completely erasing the HD and re-installing everything. The 14″ display is feeling small and cramped, too. Moving back to a desktop iMac with a large screen and Intel was just what I needed. I now only use my iBook at school to check email, enter class attendance, complete report cards, and check weather/news. Leopard would be nice for the quick view of my school documents, but I think it will tax the life out of my iBook’s 933 mhz. I’ve decided to only put Leopard on my new iMac, where I spend 90% of my computer time. There have been so many glitches using the current OS X updates, though, that I have been waiting for the release of Leopard to finally happen. I only wish Apple had continued to support and improve AppleWorks. Many of us at school still use it, with all its faults and despite the fact that our district has moved on to MS Office for Mac. Oh, well. Today is my 53rd birthday, though, and rather than pre-order and wait for it to arrive next week, I’m taking the day off out of a stressed-out week and later heading for the Apple Store an hour away to pick up my copy. Hanging out at the mall in the evening is less exciting than 30 years ago, but it will be an interesting diversion. I’ve never attended an Apple event of any kind. I plan to get there a few hours early to window shop, get my copy when the store re-opens for the big event, and head back home. My husband is staying home with the dogs. A pc/Windows user, he views the Apple event as appealing as a cat show! (By the way, I agree with poster who suggested iStumbler for searching secure networks. I use it, too. It’s amazing how many neighbors out here put their names on open networks and all use the same channel. They probably don’t even know anyone can see their networks.)
Recently upgraded my blackbook and I love Leopard